The reason, of course, lures from the explosion the freshmen running backs had onto the scene last season.

Alabama's T.J. Yeldon helped the Crimson Tide win a national championship with 1,108 rushing yards, while Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall combined for 2,144 rushing yards for the Georgia Bulldogs.

Oh, and that freshman Jeremy Hill at LSU led the Tigers to victories in the fourth quarter against both South Carolina and Texas A&M. We're all still scratching our head at the fact that he had no rush attempts against Clemson in the final 15 minutes.

So with all of these great running backs entering their sophomore seasons, it begs the question—who's the best? Here are the top 10 running backs in the SEC for 2013.

9. Alfred Blue

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Let's see if Alfred Blue can return to form.

In 2011, Blue was simply a nice change of pace. Spencer Ware, Kenny Hilliard and Michael Ford were the main contributors at the running back position, but Blue was still able to produce 539 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.

In 2012, Blue started the season as the Tigers' top running back. He rushed for 270 yards and two touchdowns in three games. However, in the third game of the season, Blue went down with a season-ending knee injury.

Can he become the running back he once was before the knee injury occurred? Should he recover 100 percent from the injury, he'll easily be one of the best running backs in the league with his powerful running and smooth style of evading defenders.

8. Ben Malena

Manziel led the SEC in rushing with 1,410 yards to go along with his league-leading 21 rushing touchdowns. He outgained starting running back Ben Malena by 602 yards.

That's saying something when you take into account how great Malena is at running the football. Malena averaged just over 10 rushing attempts per game with Texas A&M last season, and he was still able to rush for 808 yards during.

Manziel, as he should, will be the focal point of the offense, but Malena will provide the Aggies with a nice change of pace.

4. Keith Marshall

They were so great that the rest of the countdown features four true freshmen. Entering their sophomore campaign, progression is expected.

At No. 4 on the list is Georgia's Keith Marshall. Marshall rushed for 759 yards and accounted for nine total touchdowns for the Bulldogs last season.

He did that while sharing the backfield with Gurley. Marshall is good enough to start at most schools in the country, but with a player like Gurley alongside him, he should be content being part of the best one-two punch in all of college football.

3. Jeremy Hill

It seems like every year the Tigers find a new running back that's more talented than the previous guy—in 2012, Hill emerged as one of the best running backs in the SEC.

Nevermind his 755 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. Rather, look at his physical gifts to truly appreciate how talented this running back is.

Here's a back that can break tackles and use his lateral movement to shake defenders in the open field. Hill will share the backfield with Alfred Blue in 2013, but he should still rush for over 1,000 yards with his abilities and breakaway speed. That, of course, is if LSU's coaching staff decides to feed him the football in the fourth quarter.

2. T.J. Yeldon

The past few years, LSU has found one great running back after another.

Alabama, on the other hand, has replaced a Heisman-winning running back with a Heisman candidate, a top NFL draft pick and now with a future Heisman front-runner.

As good as Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy all were for the Crimson Tide, Yeldon might become even better.

Yeldon rushed for 1,108 yards and 12 touchdowns in his first season of college ball, and he did that while sharing the backfield with Lacy, who rushed for 1,322 yards and 17 touchdowns. You can only imagine what his statistics will be as the starter.

1. Todd Gurley

Gurley is not only the best running back in the SEC, but he's the best running back in college football.

You remember when Steve Spurrier said Jadeveon Clowney could have went to the NFL straight out of high school? The same might be true for Gurley.

As a true freshman, Gurley led all running backs in the SEC with 1,385 rushing yards and was tied for most rushing touchdowns with 17. Like Hill and Yeldon, Gurley boasts that rare combination of power and speed. However, Gurley's speed and power resembles one of the greatest running backs in the SEC history.

Comparisons to Herschel Walker don't happen everyday and they shouldn't, but the way Gurley breaks tackles and races past defenders in the secondary sure is reminiscent.